They consider a key aspect to increase the commitment to organic farming to guarantee its differential quality
The regional government and the Spanish Lemon and Grapefruit Interprofessional Association (Ailimpo) have reinforced their commitment to strengthen the lemon and grapefruit sector in the Region, defend all links in the sector’s chain, as well as jointly advance in development of tools that allow the opening of new markets.
This was agreed by the Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and the Environment, Antonio Luengo, and the president of Ailimpo, José Hernández, in a recent meeting in which Luengo recalled that “the success of the sector goes through reinforcing the differentiating character of quality, since our lemon and grapefruit producers grow sustainably and responsibly, both organically and conventionally ”.
“Although it is still necessary to stimulate the demand for ‘bio’ products, there has been considerable growth in the shift from citrus cultivation, especially lemon, towards organic cultivation and, with the objectives on the table of the 2030 Agenda that marks Europe can be an approach that guarantees the future of this crop ”, explained the counselor, who added that“ the Region is an international benchmark in the production, export and transformation of organic lemon ”. They also dealt with some of the issues that are of greatest concern at the moment, such as “the development of the food chain law, the updating of the cost study prepared by Imida or the increase in phytosanitary surveys”.
The citrus area cultivated in the Region exceeds 40,000 hectares, of which more than half (26,000 hectares) are lemon. 22% of Murcian fruit and vegetable production corresponds to citrus fruits, of which 19% are lemons. In fact, 50% of the lemons produced in Spain are produced in the Region of Murcia, highlighted in the Ministry.
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